When Does Decision-Making Reflect Agency? Evidence from the Rural Philippines

Aletheia Donald, Hillary C. Johnson, Aries A. Arugay, Aletheia KERYGMA B. Valenciano and Forest B. Jarvis

Journal of Development Studies, 2026, vol. 62, issue 5, 758-778

Abstract: Capturing individual agency—the ability to set goals and act on them—is important for measuring progress towards development goals. Decision-making is often used as a proxy for agency, though there are theoretical critiques of this approach. Using unique data from the rural Philippines, this paper empirically tests the extent to which different aspects of agricultural decision-making are correlated with the Relative Autonomy Index, a measure of agency that has been validated for use in lower-income countries. Being a decision-maker (as asked in common survey questions) is only weakly related to the RAI for women, and not at all for men. Having input into decisions and, to a greater extent, the ability to make personal decisions if desired are strongly associated with the RAI for both genders. The quantitative and qualitative data indicate that these concepts better capture the ability to make choices in line with one’s personal goals, while being a decision-maker instead reflects being responsible for the outcome or managing the execution of a task, often in the face of limited options. The findings caution against focusing on being a decision-maker as a sole indicator of agency and have practical implications for conceptualising and measuring agency.

Date: 2026
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DOI: 10.1080/00220388.2025.2607419

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